More than 2 000 DA supporters marched through Tshwane on Thursday to demand immediate government action against gender-based violence (GBV) and murder in the province.

Led by Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink, the march ended at the Kgoši Mampuru II Correctional Centre, with a procession of 12 funeral vans, symbolising the statistic of 12 murders a day in Gauteng.

The demonstration comes amid heightened urgency following the grim discovery of 12 murdered women across the City of Ekurhuleni between September and October, with an ongoing investigation being handled by the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Brink criticised recent police advisories that urged women to take personal safety precautions, such as altering their routes, staying indoors at night, or changing how they carry their phones.

"The people of South Africa don’t need 'advice' on how to avoid crime; they need government action to tackle crime. The responsibility for preventing violent crime cannot be placed on victims. Government must create safer communities, law enforcement must catch perpetrators, prosecutors must build strong cases, and the justice system must deliver consequences," Brink said.

The DA has launched a public petition rejecting the police's stance, arguing that law enforcement must fulfil its constitutional mandate to protect citizens rather than shift the burden of safety onto vulnerable residents.

The DA's core message to the police and the National Prosecuting Authority was ‘Catch. Convict. Clean Up’. To achieve this, the party is demanding more boots on the ground with expanded investigative and intelligence capabilities granted to capable municipalities.

The party called for the immediate resolution to the severe DNA evidence backlogs that it says continually stall investigations and deny justice, as well as the repairing of broken streetlights and the clearing of overgrown public spaces, which Brink identified as criminal breeding grounds.

The DA demanded the implementation of smart-policing technology and improved reporting systems for faster prevention and response.

It also urged enhanced cooperation between SAPS, municipal police, community policing forums, neighbourhood watches, and private security, as well as mandatory lifestyle audits for senior police officials and basic operational functionality, such as working SAPS telephone lines.

Last month, the party announced a R500 000 financial reward for any verifiable information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of those responsible for the Ekurhuleni murders.

Furthermore, the DA successfully secured an urgent debate in Parliament to address the killings and pressure the national government into implementing stricter measures to secure Gauteng's communities.